Persian Girls: a Memoir by Nahid Rachlin tells the story of growing up female in an Iranian household.  Despite dreams of education and careers, Pari, Nahid’s older sister is forced into a marriage with a cruel, wealthy man. Nahid manages to move to America for an education, returning to Iran only after Pari’s death in a mysterious accident.

Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught us to Laugh by Darryl Littleton, though a serious look at the history of black humor, is full of laugh out loud jokes and situations. Littelton interviewed 121 of the top humorists from Dick Gregory, Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx and includes information on some of the earliest actor/ comedians like Hattie McDaniels and Stepin Fetchit. The interviews give homage to the importance of the early comedians who bravely broke new ground and paved the way for those who followed.

Retired police detective Mike Garrity has two ex-wives, a teenaged daughter who hates him and a brain tumor he’s nicknamed Bob. With nothing but death ahead of him, he jumps at the chance to find the missing member of a boy band. When a headless corpse turns up he realizes a lot of people are looking for him. Thomas Cavanagh, Head Games, is being compared to one of my favorites, Carl Hiaasen.

Set in the Florence, Italy of 1300, city prior Dante Alighieri investigates the murder of an artist. Is it a coincidence that seven scholars have arrived in the city? Or involve Pope Boniface? Read The Mosaic Crimes by Giulio Leoni.

Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick has been around a long time, having been awarded the Hugo Award in 1963, and lately has been experiencing a resurgence. Several of his works, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner), “We Can Remember it for You Wholesale” (Total Recall) and A Scanner Darkly have been made into movies. Now in print for the first time is his earliest novel Voices from the Street. Set in the early 1950’s, it is the story of the Stuart Hadley, average American, and his conflicts in the society of that day.

Suspense writer Lincoln Child offers Deep Storm, set on an oil drilling platform in the North Atlantic. Workers have been coming down with a strange illness. When Dr. Peter Crane arrives to investigate he finds the source to be a secret research facility two miles underwater, built when drilling uncovered an ancient civilization.

Cotton Malone receives an email “You have something I want…You have 72 hours.  If I don’t hear from you, you will be childless.” When his ex-wife reports their son’s kidnapping, and Cotton’s bookshop is burned down, he knows they will stop at nothing to get what they want-the ancient library of Alexandria.  Read The Alexandra Link by Steve Berry

Virginia Cooper
Adult Services Librarian